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As his campaign understands, unless he can ignite the so-called Obama coalition that includes youth, people of color and single women, his likelihood of victory goes from remote to infinitesimal.

Will Crosby, 63, a veteran political organizer in Chicago’s bruising electoral battles, is worried that the black community will be caught flat-footed in the 2016 presidential campaign.

The way he sees things, too much of the black electorate is sleepwalking in lockstep support of Hillary Clinton. She is by far the black electorate’s favored candidate, with an 80 percent approval rate.

But Crosby thinks Bernie Sanders is the best presidential candidate for African Americans. “Bernie Sanders is talking about issues that directly affect our community and he’s doing it in a fearless way,” Crosby says. Unfortunately, he adds, Sanders’ message has yet to penetrate into the black community.

Crosby and other Chicago-based black activists have formed a group called the Bernie Brigade that attempts to showcase Sanders’ progressive platform and long history of support for the black struggle. The group canvasses for Sanders in majority-black neighborhoods and holds pro-Sanders events. “We’re still very much engaged in an educational process,” he notes. “Many in our community are unfamiliar with Bernie. They just see an elderly white man from remote, white Vermont. And, quite frankly, that’s a hard sell.”

Crosby says attitudes are easily changed when they hear Sanders’ political spiel and his policy prescriptions, especially on reforming the criminal justice system and curbing wealth inequality. But a black electorate that feels warmly toward Clinton may not take the time to listen. According to a CNN poll from June, Sanders had the support of just 2 percent of black Democrats.

The Bernie Brigade is struggling to get political traction in a city still raw from recent hard-fought battles for both Illinois governor and Chicago mayor. The group includes many members who were bitter antagonists in those elections. “If Bernie can bring us together for one cause, I know he can grow his appeal to the larger black community,” Crosby says.

That’s essential for Sanders. As his campaign understands, unless he can ignite the so-called Obama coalition that includes youth, people of color and single women, his likelihood of victory goes from remote to infinitesimal.

In 2012, the percentage of black voter turnout surpassed white voter turnout for the first time in history and, in large part, accounted for Obama’s re-election. But without Obama as a candidate, generating that kind of electoral enthusiasm seems unlikely.

Sanders faces a problem that often confronts progressive mavericks who strike a chord with an enthusiastic sliver of the Democratic electorate, but who routinely fail to ring a bell with voters of color—Paul Tsongas, Gary Hart, Jerry Brown, Eugene McCarthy. These candidates have often been blinded by cultural assumptions that devalue the sensibilities of the black community. Adding to this traditional distance is Sanders’ decidedly old-school brand of socialist politics, which is devoted to the materialist notion that economics primarily shape the sociopolitical agenda. In that formulation, race is superstructural—a mere appendage to the means of production.

But in 21st-century America, race is fundamental. Sanders was rudely informed of this when Black Lives Matter activists interrupted his speeches during two campaign stops. These disruptions have forced Sanders to readjust his policy platform and stump speeches, which now include diatribes against institutional racism and the criminalization of the black community.

If Sanders stands a chance, black voters will have to be convinced, again, that Clinton is not the best candidate. A black man convinced them last time; can an elderly white man do it this time?

Some are already convinced. “Bernie Sanders’ goals for the country line up with mine better than those of any other candidate in the race,” says Stella Hetherington, a Chicago resident who organized one of the many “African-Americans for Bernie Sanders” Facebook groups. “Even if he didn’t directly address black issues, the issues he does address will still have a positive effect on our lives.”

Salim Muwakkil is a senior editor of In These Times, where he has worked since 1983. He is the host of The Salim Muwakkil show on WVON, Chicago's historic black radio station, and he wrote the text for the book HAROLD: Photographs from the Harold Washington Years.

I am young -ish! 32 y/o. Puerto Rican and proud woman here. Grew up in mostly Black and Latino areas my whole life. (East New York, Brooklyn and pre-gentrification Williamsburg, Brooklyn). Now in predominantly Black West Philly. And I #feelthebern all day everyday, in solidarity with my beautiful Black sisters and brothers.

Posted by Ariana Flores Gordon on 2016-02-29 08:43:19

why does she have the African American support I keep reading and hearing about!.I really would like someone to explain it to me

Joe Barron, then if Clinton gets elected don't complain about racism when more blacks are put in jail for petty crimes. The Clinton's did this in the 90s, along with 3 strikes you're out laws, and mandatory minimum sentences as well as welfare reform. I dunno, maybe black people like going to prison. Because if they didn't, they wouldn't be supporting Clinton.

Posted by Emm Vee on 2016-02-22 10:28:49

I hear you about Wall Street but Wall Street drives the economy where wages are stagnant and the CEOs make over 600 times what their workers make.Go to "Who Is Bernie Sanders?" on You Tube and click on the 9 minute video and you will see short videos of every stand he has worked on over his last 3-4 terms in the House and Senate.

Posted by lynn on 2015-12-17 14:11:38

This from a pole taken 12/16/15:

Bernie Sanders does an average of 2 points better than Clinton in general election match ups in Iowa. He leads 5 out of 6 of the Republicans- 45/39 over Fiorina, 44/40 over Bush, 46/43 over Trump, 44/43 over Cruz, and 43/42 over Carson. The only one he trails is Rubio at 44/42.

Feel the Bern!!!

Posted by lynn on 2015-12-17 14:06:50

A belated thanks. You'll be hearing from me very soon.

Posted by je_proteste on 2015-11-21 17:21:16

Nail on head. The writer must have been paid by the meme. Between the big lies and innuendoes, this reads very FOX-y.

Posted by Yourami on 2015-11-09 23:55:24

Bernie needs to go to a barber shop in an African American community. That would be the ice breaker that opens the door.

Posted by Gregory Wonderwheel on 2015-10-03 13:44:18

No whatever group (blacks, jews, gays, catholics) doesn't vote as a monolith.

But right now in Oct 2015, Clinton has more name recognition in black communities than Sanders, even though Sanders is not a the corporate democrat like Hillary.

My guess is that in particular South Carolina black churches are perhaps not behind Sanders because of his long time support for gay civil rights. It's not a right that many black churches think well of; the Mormons used this in California to defeat a gay marriage bill.

Posted by J C on 2015-10-03 08:11:45

joe:

Citing the bad hit piece in the WSJ doesn't do you any favors.

Trillions more will be spent on private medical insurance in the same time if things are left as they are.

Posted by J C on 2015-10-03 08:03:29

Some problems, ones that contradict the headline:

“Adding to this traditional distance is Sanders’ decidedly old-school brand of socialist politics, which is devoted to the materialist notion that economics primarily shape the sociopolitical agenda. In that formulation, race is superstructural—a mere appendage to the means of production.”

This is an unhelpful, to Sanders, and simplistic summary of his positions. It looks a lot like what defenders of Ms Clinton have written.

“But in 21st-century America, race is fundamental. Sanders was rudely informed of this when Black Lives Matter activists interrupted his speeches during two campaign stops. These disruptions have forced Sanders to readjust his policy platform and stump speeches,”

Months before being interrupted by Black Lives Matter activists, Sanders was already speaking of racism in his stump speeches. Yet again, these are Hillary Clinton defenders talking points.

As for the stage seizing of the Black Lives Matter Seattle group, that was a Nation of Islam moment, and has not been helped by the incapacity of the larger group to apologize.

This In These Times article is so short, is so full of gross misrepresentations about Sanders and black people that it looks to be a hit piece dressed up to look sort of like “look what positive things some black people have to say about Sanders”.

Posted by J C on 2015-10-03 08:01:42

Wow, I love all the experts on "blacks" as though we are incapable of independent thought. And Blacks do invest on wall street, if not directly then through pension plans and 401k's. Your friend does not speak for "blacks".

Posted by poonchkie on 2015-09-30 02:24:58

Not to mention the destruction of the Haitian agricultural businesses. He dumped U.S. subsidized produce running them out which resulted in a mass influx into the capital looking for work.

Posted by poonchkie on 2015-09-30 02:22:10

I really dislike when people refer to blacks as a monolithic group incapable of independent thought. I have come to detest and distrust the corporate democrats. They are feeding from the same Koch trough as the repugs. Bernie has come along at a pivotal time in American politics and people are becoming more and more alarmed by the last desperate grasps of the Southern Strategy to win elections. The lunatic fringe have usurped even the most radical of the right including Bachmann and Jindal and have begun eating their own. Boner is the first casualty.

Posted by poonchkie on 2015-09-30 02:19:27

I think that many of us will begin to come around when we learn more. No one should just be supporting Hillary Clinton blindly. Bernie is the only candidate who has steadfastly stayed on the issues. One of the biggest challenges in our community is poverty so when Bernie is talking about income inequality or wealth inequality that directly affects us. We really have to get our heads out the sand and listen to what these candidates are talking about or not talking about...

Posted by Sharon B on 2015-09-22 09:30:59

Most reading this article may already be aware that Cornel West has endorsed Sanders for president. It is my understanding that the pair will go to Atlanta as part of a southern tour by the Sander's Campaign. I certainly hope this can generate some interest for Sanders particularly in the South where he is trailing badly in the Democratic Primary polls.

Posted by Thomas Wells on 2015-09-20 02:33:35

I agree, svwalker. I think my percentages came out 87% agree with Bernie, 76% with Clinton and 58% O'Malley. Bernie was my choice before I used the website to check my positions against theirs. My husband took it as well, ended up with three Republicans! More than one friend has said that they wished they could be a fly on the wall around here when we get to discussing politics! In my way of thinking, Hillary is just too obligated to the banks and Wall Street, and I don't like the way she tends to try to prove she's not weak by being too much of a war-monger. She sounds like a populist (now, since Bernie's been gaining on her) but I don't buy a word of it. That's just not who she is, if it doesn't benefit HER, she won't follow through.

Posted by leftofabbie on 2015-09-20 01:11:34

Blacks have been hoodwinked by marxism since the 1950's. The soviets dumped millions of dollars to get activists riled up. vernon jarrett, paul robeson, timuel black, frank marshall davis, etc

It's not what she did for Blacks, it's what she and her husband did TO them. The prisons today that are bulging with Black inmates, and the added poverty in some Black communities are the result of the Clintons' policies of the 1990s. Don't think for a minute that Hillary sat in the corner while Bill did these things--she was his "partner" as they said, and it's doubtful that she would allow herself to be left out of anything. I wish Bernie would bring this up. It's not negative campaigning, it's a necessary truth.

Posted by Susen Shapiro on 2015-09-19 10:54:50

Illinois for Bernie Sanders, plus there may be a county level group for you.

Posted by Lisa Marie on 2015-09-18 23:11:14

Hillary is just more of the same. Bernie will help ALL of us and he has been involved in civil rights since I was born. I love him and I hope people just read his platform or listen to him speak. That's all they need to do.

Posted by Lisa Marie on 2015-09-18 23:07:33

Thanks. I also suggest that you look at the actual records of the candidates, which speak volumes about what they stand for or don't stand for. Political positions on a website represents for Hillary saying anything that might get her elected.....means nothing to her in terms of standing or willing to advocate for issues important to many African American voters. Her delayed statements...on important events to African Americans and her absolute lack of a record of advocating anything in the way of social justice----is very telling about Hillary----or should be for African Americans who want to see this country move forward more progressively.

Posted by svwalker on 2015-09-18 17:47:33

The website iSideWith is an excellent tool to find out which candidate's policies most closely align with yours. You choose your personal beliefs from a list of options for each issue (Social Security, military interventionism, costs of college) and each of those options when you click on it, gives you even more choices. The results give you a percentage of your alignment with each candidate. Good website! I encourage you to use it, it certainly helped me.

Posted by leftofabbie on 2015-09-18 15:59:26

Hillary has never explained why she fought against civil rights....when she actively supported Barry Goldwater. this was at a time when choice mattered. Martin Luther king and others of us regular folk were risking our lives and livelihoods for basic rights to not live under American Apartheid"...Hillary opposed this. When did she change her core beliefs????? She always appears condescending towards African Americans.... Bernie is for real!!!

Posted by svwalker on 2015-09-17 15:46:27

Cornell West has endorsed Bernie. I'm encouraged that Sanders will gain traction with African-Americans. As a low income mid-aged white, I fully want Bernie to address 'their' issues and he will as the article mentioned. Clearly Bernie harks on income inequality, but he is broadening that to the criminal justice system. We could have a discussion of the prison-industrial complex. Voter rights is another Sanders issue.

At the least, if Bernie draws people of color to his message and those numbers improve, then he has pulled the Democratic Party to Progressives to write the platform. But I think, I hope, that this is the year of the unexpected. So far, Sanders has not needed the media, he's doing it 'new school.' Young voters are part of that and that may prove to be where the color shift away from Hillary begins. Black Lives Matters does matter and they aren't beholden to a candidate but are looking for their issues to be heard. I believe Bernie will let them be heard, he did in Seattle, he let them take the stage. Unlike Hillary.

Posted by Jon Barber on 2015-09-17 14:23:04

Gerald Friedman - Author of the study WSJ has cited has written an open letter to WSJ in response to their article.

Why? - Well... only because Bernie's plans would result in a $5trillion SAVING when all cuts and spending are aggregated.

Blacks know no more of Marxist theory than whites do, so it's not surprising that they can't connect the dots between capitalism, economic violence, and their own struggles.

Posted by Aguy on 2015-09-16 21:43:39

"Bernie Brigade." Good name! Inspirational activism.

Posted by Gareth Fenley on 2015-09-16 07:23:10

Progressive Democrats Of America has a great Bernie + Black Lives Matter flyer. If you'd like copies to distribute, email me at mikefox AT pdamerica.org

Posted by Mike Fox on 2015-09-16 01:38:53

A black friend said, "we don't invest on Wall Street so it's hard to relate to Bernie." I said, it is not about investing on Wall Street, it is about the devastation Wall Street has caused in the African-American community. What about the foreclosure crisis? Thousands of blacks were told they qualified for mortgages and they poured their life savings into buying houses... then the banks foreclosed on those houses. They sold people's homes for pennies on the dollar and even those who didn't have their homes foreclosed on lost millions because the value of all homes in their community tanked. Big banks have redlined in minority communities for year and. big banks and Wall Street are Hillary's biggest supporters. They are NOT friends to minority communities. Wall Street should matter to African-Americans because it profits on holding minorities back.

Posted by Charlotte Scot on 2015-09-15 13:09:17

Did you even read the WSJ article? The $15 trillion is complete conjecture, and unsupported. Costs declined in Canada after single-payer was established. Currently, we are investing our money in a handful of lobbyists/politicians/CEOs who then hoard that money in offshore tax havens. That is corrupt, and needs to stop. You conveniently forgot the rest of the story - that ending this corruption will SAVE us 36.8 trillion over 10 years, not including savings from private prison reform, end of war on drugs and unnecessary military spending. Here is the rest of the story.

Posted by Donnette Thayer on 2015-09-15 12:24:16

Bernie is a joke of a candidate. Only black collectivists and communists like the author are stupid enough to fall for the sanders ruse.

Posted by joe barron on 2015-09-15 01:50:01

It's a bummer and #Bernie's been getting a bad, misinformed rap, in many ways, deliberate, of course. #BernieSanders is the only one who has ever stood up for the now decimated middle-class and the less fortunate and that's what he's doing now. Check out his site: https://berniesanders.com/issu...

Also, if you go to http://map.berniesanders.com/?... you can pull up your zip code and find events in your area. If you happen to live in zip codes 604__, etc., please respond in the message feature on Facebook to B El Murphy.

Posted by TahoeB on 2015-09-14 18:59:19

What's your facebook group? There's loads of folks here willing to help spread the word with links to Bernie's proposals, voting registration info, and events to join in.Yes, we have the trolls and negative pists to deal with, but I'd like to think the majority found here are pretty good people.

Posted by Wrjm on 2015-09-14 15:49:43

What did Clinton or her husband ever do for Blacks, for the poor, or for the common people generally? I can't think of anything. Boy this piece is depressing, I lived in Chicago for thirty years, but recently, because of economic necessity, I live down state a piece. Wow, Bernie being so far behind in Chicago is really a bummer, maybe he can pull it off in other more progressive blue states, here's hoping. I thought Illinois would be in play this time, again depressing.